American pop punks Stateside released their new album Where You Found Me on June 6 through new home Pure Noise Records.
Heads Up Big Guy opens the album with a typical pop punk riff and the upbeat rapid vocal delivery akin to Ben Barlow of Neck Deep. It adds in the occasional scream which brings some grittiness to the track.
It focuses on being lied to and betrayed with lyrics like “I don’t care for excuses, You know just what you did. Just whеn you thought you got away, Now you’re lying through your teeth, I can see it on your face.”
It’s a solid start to the album.
Knuckle Puck is one of the two guest features on the album, on Stay Sweet (Vamachara guests on California Calls You Home towards the end of the album, which is also a banger of a track). If you ask me to describe a post 2010 pop punk track, Stay Sweet is one of the ones that would come to mind, with its funky drums and intermittent guitar lines. The chorus has such a catchy underlay, with lyrics about sleeping on the bathroom floor.
We slow things down with the acoustic first verse to The End’s Not Near It’s Here. The track then kicks in with some prominent drums and angsty vocal delivery.
The opening drum and bass combination to single Like a Rosary is funky. The lyrical content is really clever, the song talks about not being able to find the words to say when not wanting someone to leave, and realising the hold they have over you. Using the line “You wear me like a rosary” is a clever phrasing for being at someone’s beck and call.
Later in the album you also have On a Clear Day You Can See Forever which is a much more melodic track, for the verses, with an almost lullaby feel before the chorus kicks in. The closing melody has an orchestral feel to it which is very different to the rest of the album but sounds amazing.
I must admit I am quite hit and miss on pop punk, where I go through phases of really liking it and not being fussed but luckily I listened to Stateside and Where You Found Me during a liking phase.
The majority of the album is pretty standard in terms of you know you’re getting a typical pop punk album but there’s the odd bits like some scream vocals or gang shouts that stand out. Now this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, in the days where the pop punk genre is pretty saturated, it is hard to stand out and be different without straying too far from the genre, so any little twists are good. There’s also the likes of Like a Rosary and The End’s Not Near Its Here which mix things up sonically.
Stateside definitely stand out with some class songwriting, with everything from the intricate lyrics to the melting pot of drums, bass and guitar lines.
If you’re a pop punk fan, you’ll definitely love Where You Found Me!
